The city's cross-border e-commerce data monitoring center shows real-time cross-border e-commerce transactions on Nov 11. [Photo/zj.zjol.com] 

Ningbo in Zhejiang province witnessed an explosive growth in cross-border e-commerce imports at the annual Double Eleven online shopping festival on Nov 11, ranking first in the whole nation. 

Ningbo Customs received 7.73 million cross-border e-commerce import orders on Nov 11, about a quarter of those of the whole nation, with the total value of goods exceeding 1.4 billion yuan ($208 million), up 24 percent and 30 percent year-on-year in import order and goods value respectively. 

This is another victory the city has achieved since it secured the top position in China in cross-border e-commerce imports in May.

Among the different areas of the city, Ningbo Free Trade Zone and Ningbo Hangzhou Bay New Zone achieved the best results, with their cross-border e-commerce import orders accounting for 74 percent and 23 percent of the city's total respectively. 

The city's cross-border e-commerce imports reached 13 billion yuan as of Nov 11 this year, doubling those of last year for the same period and becoming the first city in China to hit over 10 billion yuan.

It is projected that the figure will top 15 billion by the year end. 

Double Eleven, which falls on Nov 11 every year and is also known as the Singles' Day, was originally meant for young people to celebrate being single. 

It has now become the world's largest online shopping carnival thanks to its initiator Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant.